An Ape's Home
by c.emcneill
Summary: This is my own story and it also happens to be my first. It is based around the idea of Planet of the Apes but without any major characters or similar plot lines. The five members of the great Apes live by themselves with their own big family lead by Kings and Queens. They must learn to survive in a world different to this one.
1. Chapter 1

An Ape's Home

The sun crept up over the hills. It's thin band of light was beginning to wash over the land that was beneath it. With it, life began to stir. Bugs rustled from their resting spots, birds began to excercise their sleepy voices, fish started leaping in the the water and finally the apes opened their eyes.

Onugba was was awoken by his children who harrased him in his bed. It wasn't Onugba's favourite start to any day but what with the age that his children were at, it was the most common way for him to start the day. He look out over his subjects. No, subjects were not what Onugba thought of them, they were his people, his family, his entire life's meaning.

They were all awake now. Food gathered from the previous week was beginning to run out. Onugba decided that there would be enough to feed the youngest of them but then a party would have to be assembled and sent off to find more. Onugba was an experienced hunter-gatherer, he knew where the other apes gathered, where other predators gathered, he also had a vast knowledge of the movements of his prey. They would not starve today, Onugba would see to that, he would ensure the Orangutans lived to see another day.

Cideo had similar plans, only his meant that he had been awake for longer than Onugba and his family had. In fact, they were already moving. They moved deftly through the trees, they hardly made a sound as they moved closer and closer to their first target of they day. Cideo held up an open hand, 'hold'. Any closer and they ran the risk of being spotted. Cideo struck a look towards his companions, four could be seen, and that was fine, the deer bellow would surely notice twenty chimpanzees looking down on them. Making sure they were all ready, was not Cideo's job at the moment however. Seven doe and one stag were grazing on the leaves and vegetation bellow. The stag was strong and could easily kill any one of Cideo's apes. This needed to be accounted for. Cideo held up two fingers and moved his arm in a curved manner, then he pointed at the stag. Two of Cideo's companions gave a nod and as quietly as they had come in, left again. This left Cideo and his brother, Rídde to watch the doe. Cideo had hunted with Rídde many times before, since they were allowed to by their father, and they knew each other inside-out.

Cideo waited on his branch for thirty four seconds, the exact time taken for his other apes to move into their new position the last time he ordered such a maneuver.

Then, he screamed, and so did the rest of his hunters.

The deer bellow looked up to see a blur of black clouds springing from the trees above and assaulting them as they landed. The noise was deafening to the point that the once threatening stag was soon bucking and swinging his antlers in any direction as he could not identify where one single noise was coming from.

The attack was quick and brutal. Within sixteen seconds, the chimpanzees had their food which would feed all of the family for days. Cideo hoisted half of a doe onto his back, and with the rest of the carriers, he marched on the forest floor while his brothers and sisters watched them from above.

They heard the deers cries. It had been heard many times before. The chimpanzees were very loud and violent when they made a kill. Bonobos had learned to live relatively close to their neighbouring apes without much conflict between the two families. Neyagoru had seen that her family endured the chimpanzee movements. She was firmly installed and recognised as the leader and mother of the bonobos and she was determined to see that her people wouldn't fall prey to the other apes or any other predator on this planet.

Neyagoru was a mother to nine baby bonobos. With four sons, one of them was sure to take over her position as leader and become the new king. Her daughters were likely going to be married off to other worthy males and they would continue to help the bonobo population grow. Neyagoru took her attention away from her children to see someone hobbling up to her and her young. He bowed his head and knelt down respectively while keeping his distance from the young children. He was not here to cause trouble, no Neyagoru could see that, he was requesting her time for whatever reason.

"Speak your mind" Neyagoru said with the type of authority which commanded respect even from enemies

"We have suffered the loss of two apes" he informed while keeping his head down and knee on the floor.

"How?"

"We were ambushed and attack by the apes of Láne" he replied

"Humans" she snarled

"Yes my Queen"

She fell quiet for a moment and pondered the situation

"Bring all the apes back home, close the walls and wait inside until I am ready" Neyagoru instructed.

"Yes my Queen" he bowed and ran off

*Smash* Rocks were being heaved and moved as the king had requested. The king had decided that the placement of rocks instead of timber and wood would prove to be a much better defense to his people. It also meant that more time was being used organising these defenses than gathereing food or scouting new territory. But, in this part of the world, the king ruled with an iron fist. He had gotten himself there by no easy means. It nearly cost him his life and now he was fixng what the old king wouldn't. His name was Quint, King among Gorillas.

The reorganising of the defenses had been Quint's second command when he was installed as the king. His first had been revolutionary to the Gorillas. Have a large food source _inside_ the city walls. It had been clear to Quint from a young age that it made more sense to climb a tree in safety than to wander into the unknown and hope for the best. King Seran didn't share Quint's views. Buthe wasn't in charge anymore. Quint was. Now it was Quint's job to rule as a king should

There was movement and sound inside and outside of Láne. Human sound. Adults and children moved about their business waiting for their loved ones to return from the run into the Death Lands as they called it. It was by no means a moral boosting name when it was first thought of, but at these times it was thought of more as a bad reference or even a joke. Humans weren't the strongest fighters that would be moving in Death Lands so to go out there was to be taking your life in your hands. As a result any parties which tended to go out there were small, fast and lightly armed. Either that, or you were an exile

Davin was not a happy boy at this time. He was sitting on top of Láne Hall, just able to see over the city walls but he could not see his brother. Jon had been asked to go out into Death Lands to retrieve something. Davin didn't know what but whatever it was it must have been important if Jon had agreed to go. Three of them had set off at 7 am, but that was three hours ago, however much Davin wanted to deny it, he knew that the Golden Hour for getting a job done in Death Lands was up, well up at this point. That wasn't the decider though, Jon wasn't guaranteed to be dead. Of course not. But his chances were getting slimmer and slimmer

Davin had faith in his brother's capabilities

*Bang Bang Bang*

Davin froze.


	2. Chapter 2

**This is the second chapter to what I began the other day as just a drabble on a laptop. Thanks to all those who viewed and those who took the time to review it. It was really helpful and very much appreciated**

 **Anyway here's the second chapter, a small bit shorter but more time spent on the families mentioned and more dialogue this time.**

 **Hope you like it!**

Chapter Two

Cideo arrived back at his camp, a handfull of kilometres outside his home. The other chimps moved around as they always did. The younger and the faster ones went up into the trees to the various branches and hunting blinds as the watchful eyes of the camp. Others stayed on the ground and began to sort through the hunts spoils. As well as the venison, fruits and roots had been gathered. Different chimps had different tastes, and all needed their nutrients.

Cideo took a seat on a slanted tree, it was here that Rídde approached his brother.

"The food count has been identified" he said.

Cideo remained silent, a sign for Rídde to keep speaking.

"It will last no more than 6 days" Rídde grunted.

Cideo let out a frustrated grunt a slid off the tree onto the ground next to his brother.

"We are also receiving increasingly angry shouts from the people, they don't like the conditions we're living in" Rídde continued, "they demand more space in the city".

Cideo knelt down in a cluster of branches, dirt, rotten leaves and bugs, still without speaking.

Rídde knew his brother well, the silence wasn't Cideo's attempt to brush off his brother, it was the sound of the King thinking. In respect of this, Rídde fell silent too and waited for his brother to address him. It wasn't easy, having to live with the fact that your brother had become King and you hadn't. During Cideo's first weeks as King, Rídde worked by himself, he lead his own hunting group, fought with his own soldiers, practically refused point blank to even recognise that his brother existed let alone was the new King of Chimpanzees. Only when Cideo reached out to him for help, did Rídde accept his brother again. Cideo motioned for Rídde to kneel down with him. Cideo picked up a stick and began to draw in the dirt

"I have heard the cries of the people my brother, and I want to help them. Not just for their own happiness, but for the spread of our borders! Times are changing right this very moment. The Apes of the Hills have found a new King and he presents a threat to us. We must expand! Other Apes will argue and maybe even try to stop us, but we can't let them. Times are changing my brother, and we too must change with it."

Rídde looked at his brother and put his arm around his shoulders.

"Fear not brother, for we shall make it so" he promised

Cideo smiled

"I hope you speak the truth" he nodded

The streets of Láne were filled with turning heads and anxiety. This was then multiplied by the clearing of said streets in order for an armed patrol to run straight through the heart of the city and out onto the surrounding grounds. Where they went after that, a certain young boy didn't know, but he needed to find out.

Davin scampered between carts, stalls, people's legs and houses in order to get a clearer view of the surrounding grounds of Láne. The gates were still open, though people were slow to exit the safety of their home walls. Davin, ignoring the cries of warning and caution bounded out of the gates and looked around. All boat and ship activity on the river had ceased. The clouds filled the once empty sky and painted the world grey. On the greens in front and surrounding the city, patches of grass were missing and on the gravel road leading to the city carts and people scuttled along, fastening themselves inside the city. People would see him and usher him inside if he did not hide. He took shelter in a bush.

He needed to watch out for Jon. Just to see him would be enough. After that he could return to the city, to his little home, safe in the knowledge his brother wasn't lost out there. The remaining people outside the city were those brave enough to fight for our home. One of them was the King. King Abiso. This man was legendary among Humans. He united the people when their was a problem and he looked after all people under his care without discrimination, without favouritism, he knew every single person's name and because of this when the old King was ousted, Abiso was carried to the throne. He never asked for the role, nor desired it any more than the next person, but he accepted the job and he did it well.

Abiso and his men moved in formation towards Death Lands. What exactly they intended, Davin hadn't a much more of an idea than they were going to investigate the sounds heard. If they saw him they would send him back without question, so he needed to stay out of sight if he wanted to follow them. Which he most certainly did. The King's men began to pick up the pace, a light jog towards the sounds and Davin watched for hiding spots like rocks, trees and slight hills he could hide behind should they stop and turn. They moved quicker than he could, even if he didn't have to move from cover to cover. Slowly but surely, Davin began to fall behind and lose sight of them. He looked at the tree line.

"I need to cover more ground and quickly" he thought.

He headed for the trees. 

The Queen of the Bonobos moved amongst her people. She spoke with them and watched them go about their lives. She needed to speak with the family to whom the deceased Apes belonged. She was briskly lead there and she entered the home to see two quite noticeably disheartened females. They didn't bother to look up or bow to Neyagoru's entrance. She didn't blame them.

"I have been informed of what has happened" Neyagoru began.

Neither female looked up from their grief stricken pose.

"And...I want offer my condolences, for what it's worth" she finished.

"Thank you my Queen" they both mumbled in unison, still with tears in their eyes.

Neyagoru felt that she needed to keep talking, offer something more than a sorry.

"I am setting plans in motion to strike out and return what injustice has been put upon not just you and this family, but all of us" Neyagoru informed, "the Apes of Láne will feel the pain that you feel now"

"At what cost my Queen?" the older female looked up, "how many more will die in your act of revenge? And will it be worth it, to see the Apes of Láne fall to your blades as you looked behind you and see that we have fallen too? Please my Queen, I am not attempting to cause tensions, but I implore you to avoid a rash and violent course of action. For our sake and your own" the female finished.

Neyagoru looked at the suddenly opinionated Ape.

"Tell me your name."

"Liaera" she trembled.

Neyagoru moved closer to Liaera.

"You are wise my sister and I heed your words, if a course of revenge is not what the Bonobos want then we will not pursue it" Neyagoru kissed Liaera's cheek and left the home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, this is a very short chapter and it carries on from the last one without bringing Quint, Neyagoru or Onugba back into the story and for that I'm very sorry. I'm heading off for a fortnight as well so I won't be able to publish in that time either. This is continuing with Davin in the forest and despite it's shortness I hope you like it. To the OneTwoPunch your advice and support has helped a lot so far thanks!**

* * *

Davin ducked and dashed between the trees, roots, branches and the occasional startled animal. He tried to follow the direction that King Abiso's men were moving in but when he ran clear of a brush and skidded to a halt at clearing, Davin felt that he may have drifted off his course. He tried numerous tactics in order to try and triangulate his position. Trees blocked the wind, clouds covered the sun and the leaves above sheltered him from all other noise. Davin declared himself lost.

Another 5 minutes of hopeless geography and Davin decided that maybe he wasn't to be the hero and find Jon. Maybe if he was older, maybe if he knew the landscape, maybe if he was meant to be here in the first place! He could see the outlines of where he had disturbed the leaves and dirt and began following it back. He lost himself in thoughts about his brother. Jon's birthdays, Jon playing with Davin in the streets, the day Jon brought back his first successful hunt, they were all happy memories.

Davin began to get tired and realized he had been walking for far longer than he imagined he would have. Not only that but he was now moving uphill. It wasn't possible. Yet his footprints lead up the hill. Then a thought stuck him. Jon!

"Hang in there Jon, I've found you!" Davin shouted out loud and he flew up hill as fast as his legs would let him. More footprints began to appear.

"The party!" Davin exclaimed, and he found another amount of energy that he threw into moving his legs faster.

They footprints gathered in a large clearing. There were now more footprints than Davin would have assumed would be in the hunting party, but maybe Jon had taken a lot of steps. Davin was further excited by the scraps of food left on the floor.

"This is definitely Jon!" Davin squeeled with delight. The only thing was, where WAS Jon?

"Jon? Jon?" Davin began to call, and suddenly a branch hit him in the head.

Davin looked up slightly confused

And a group of Chimpanzees looked down on him

* * *

The foodcount had been taken a short distance from the city, and with everything totaled Cideo was loading up the food once more for the short march back into the safety of the cities walls. But something wasn't right in the air. Cideo could feel it, there was an amount of anxiety among his Apes. It was at this moment one of them thumped onto the ground next to him. He bowed his head and waited for his King

"What is the matter?" Cideo asked.

"There is an Ape moving towards us, an Ape from Láne" he answered

Cideo stopped, these particluar Apes could be tricky to deal with, they relied not on strength as he did, but on the engineerring capabilities of their minds. This trait lead to the Apes of Láne being fearsome in their own right.

"Take the food which you can bear and bring it into the trees, get the others to do the same." Cideo ordered.

Within a minute, the food was with the Chimpanzees up in trees. And from here they watched a very young Ape poke around rather excitedly before hollering for a "Jon", whoever or whatever that might be. Cideo glanced to his left and saw a young male moving on a branch too thin for his weight, and as Cideo suspected, it broke and landed on the Ape's head. It looked up, as they looked down

* * *

 **So guys unfortunately that's it for the next while, I'll get the next chapter up as soon as it's good enough for ye. Review it if ye have any kind of criticism or just like the story, it really does help me. Thanks again guys and sorry about the shortness**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys. I know it's been slightly longer than I said it would be and I'm sorry. Motivation and inspiration weren't hitting and it might sound selfish of me to say but I wouldn't do this if I felt it was a chore**

 **Anyway on a cheerier note, here's the next chapter, enjoy!  
**

* * *

Cideo didn't let his chance go to waste, a shriek sprang from his voice and his Chimps moved to secure Davin bellow them. Davin, was a boy, and he stood, fixated on the spot, petrified of the Apes which moved in the trees above him. Cideo let out a growl, a warning, but not to Davin, but to the Chimp who proceeded to knock him out, cold.

The next few hours were bleak to Davin. He scarcely remembered a thing. He would awake from his unconcious state, only to be thrown back into a comatose state by the assault on his senses. However, Davin did wake up. In an awful place, stinking of foul smells which Davin neither could nor wanted to indentify. He could see next to nothing and hear, the sounds of activity from outside wherever he was being kept. He shifted in his uncomfortable position and accidently sloshed an alarming amount of vomit and urine. It only ailed Davin further when he realised it was most likely his own. He couldn't move from whatever post his arms and legs had been tied to. Davin wanted to leave, he didn't care where he went, or to whom he would grace with his presense, but this place held nothing but failure and hopelessness for Davin. So when a muscled arm hoisted him up and away from his prison, he was massively relieved.

The sudden change from darkness to brightness temporarily blinded Davin, so much so that he could not make out his couriers. He could feel himself being carried, so he wasn't being dragged through the dirt and even in his beaten state Davin could see it was a good thing. He slipped in and out of what can only be described as 'dozing'. It wasn't a comfortable sleep and it truly awoke when he felt his carrier escalating and getting higher. Then it came to a stop, and for the first real time Davin opened his eyes to a throne and a tall, well built Ape sitting in it. He bore a large scar running down the left side of his chest, and tufts of hair were missing from other parts of his arms and legs. His jaw was strong and canines sat proudly in his immense teeth. The Ape King locked eyes with Davin, one eye was blue, the other green, and he finally spoke:

"I am Cideo, King of the Apes of the Forest, and you are not meant to be here Human".

* * *

The Gorillas moved in a calm way, yet you could sense the urgency at which they did their work. Spears were sharpened, armour was donned, fromations were made. Quint looked at himself in the pool of water. He looked older now, since he usurped the throne. Perhaps he was wiser too, maybe deep down he regretted what he did. But Quint was an Ape of action, not one to live in the ideas of what he could have done. He pulled on his hemet. It was an odd set of armour, the lighter varients of typically dark colours, largely brown with streaks of grey in the stitching and on the gaunlets and shoulders. It was the King's Armour, it had saved the lives of many kings, but not King Seran, now it was Quint's.

"Now I am King" he said to himself.

And it was time for him to act like one, time to be a leader, a figure, a King.

He reached his viewpoint over his army and roared. His roar, was met with the roars of many others, willing to fight and conquer in the name of King Quint. It would begin here.

They flooded down their beloved mountains to meet their attackers, their typically orange hair gave them away at a 100 yards distance. The Orangutans were just as fearsome as their Mountain opponents and they stood their ground in formation.

The battle began

The Orangutans were more inginuic with their warfare. As well as the typical tooth and claw battle, they used tools, the rocks to their advantage. Traps set up managed to defeat the unfortunate Gorilas who fell into them. However, the Gorillas had the distinct advantage up close, and their sheer strength outmatched most opponents. Quint smashed through obstacles in his way, he was the morale booster, his presence motivated those on his side to fight in ways they never knew they could, and it disheartened the Orangutans to see a fearless King crush limbs and skulls. Quint held his axe and sliced a new gap in a soldiers chest, leaving him to die he moved on to the next opponent and proceeded to butcher the ape into a bloodied death. It didn't please Quint to do such things, but it had to be done, any King who couldn't was no King at all.

The shout went up from one of the Orangutan commanders

"Fall back Apes, retreat!"

Quint called his Gorillas to a halt on the mountain side. Enough blood had been spilt today. He gave orders to count the dead and to carry them back to the city. The dead Orangutans would be left, as a reminder should they decide to come back for round two.

Quint took the remaining soldiers back to the city, only to find it in chaos.

"What happened?" he demanded off a dying Gorilla.

The dying Ape spat blood and told Quint, "The attack on the hillside was a diversion, the food is gone."

Quint rushed to his viewpoint again while the others did what they could to help. It wasn't clear, but Quint saw the outline of an Ape, a King Ape, staring back at him from a safe distance

"Onugba" Quint sighed.

* * *

 **So that's it, the first conflict scene. If you'd like me to be more in depth with the fighting itself than I have been let me know! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, reviewing always helps the ol' motivation tanks :D  
** **Thanks guys**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, the fifth chapter's here. Back with Cideo's little gang and Neyagoru for the second half. No Davin so sorry if you like hin but he'll be back soon:) Enjoy**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

It was many hours after the Human boy sat in front of Cideo whimpering. Darkness was falling and The King of the Forests paced back and forth in his hall wondering what to do with the nuisance. Another Chimp stood at the entrance, thin compared to most other apes and scars donned his face. He was one of the few Chimps to continuously carry a weapon, a spear, which he held in his hand as he stood watching his King think and mutter to himself. He was a housecarl of sorts, self appointed, he had followed Cideo since they first knew each other, and upon being annointed King, he demanded Cideo allow his services to him. Advising, protection in the Badlands, councilling the people, killing... He stood silently and watched his King pace backwards and forwards, left to right and all the while never saw fit to speak nor offer his King any advice nor council. The silence suited him, when others might have spoken, he would listen.

Cideo moved out onto his cliff, his view over all his people and his lands. They moved off the main roads into their shelters and huts to be with their loved ones for the night. Cideo felt like the watchful eye over his people, and everytime he did this, he felt bad for pulling away from this view, he couldn't protect his people while he slept. Yet sleep-deprived, he was of even less use to them.

Cideo arose and moved back inside.

"I will not make up my mind tonight, it has been an irritatingly long day and any decision made now would have flaws. Do you agree?" he asked the Ape standing guard

He shifted as he was addressed but only offered a stiff nod

Cideo frowned, "What are you thinking Felius? You must have a thought on the matter?"

Felius took a step toward his King in order to better present himself, "I feel the course of action is simple, we let the boy go" he said simply

Cideo gave Felius a questioning look, "So we just leave him outside our walls? Come now Felius you have spent enough times in my meetings with the other Chimp Nations to know that that plan is like letting a rouge bear live. We have been presented with a tool for furthering our people. We could trade him back to the Apes of Láne, kill him and place blame on another Ape, maybe the Mountain Apes or the Red Apes perhaps, we have many options my friend, but I will return to my bed, to let my mind toss the problem while I sleep. Goodnight Felius"

"Yes my King, sleep well" Felius said formally

As they went their separate ways for the night, Felius realised that he and his King were both wrong. The Apes of Láne would notice him gone, sooner or later.

Neyagoru stepped down from her podium. Her people had spoken. The Apes of Láne would pay. But subtly. Not enough that any blame would be traced back to the Apes of the Plains, but enough to hurt them so that they might believe some higher power were at work. Neyagoru snorted at the thought. How fun that would be for her. Like when you watch a fly cling to the wall, desperate and unsure of where it is he should go.

She returned to her hall and opened up a package of leaves, her soldiers. She began sifting through them, looking at the names on the leaves. "Revenge!" they had cried. "Retribution!". They would have it. Neyagoru might have bared an ill will toward her Ape neighbours, but she always listened to her family. It was always a good day when their interests aligned.

"These Apes" she said, gesturing to the smaller pile separate from the other. "These Apes will avenge our fallen family, bring them to me" she told the armoured Bonobo next to her

"Yes my Queen at once" he replied and moved off to gather them.

He returned within minutes with five Apes, all young males who had proved themselves to their Queen in combat before, yet they maintained a certain amount of ingenuity that others seemed to lack out on the battlefield.

Neyagoru stood to address her soldiers

"You have all been hand picked by me to attack the Apes of Láne." she began, "I want you to attack the city, be subtle, you may have whatever resources you deem necessary but I want no solid trace coming back to here, understood?" she finished

"Yes my Queen!" they all answered

"The begin your plans and preparations" Neyagoru said. They bonobos bowed and left.

Neyagoru relaxed. She could now that there was something being done about the Humans. She requested a companion to destress her for the night. He was with her within two minutes and she took him to her bed.

"A Queen can have it's good sides" she sighed as the Ape pounced on top of her.

* * *

 **And that's it for the fifth chapter. I can appreciate if you feel the story has been kinda slow but I feel it really beginning to pick up pace at this stage:D Anyway review if you liked it they always help. Thanks guys**


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